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UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN MEDIA CONFERENCE

February 1, 2016

Madison, Wisconsin

THE MODERATOR: We are joined by the Athletic Director, Barry Alvarez, and Patrick Sims, the Vice Provost for the Department of Diversity, Equity and Educational Achievement.

BARRY ALVAREZ: Thanks, Brian. Again for the sixth straight year we're partnering with a unit on campus in conjunction with the spring game, where we think it's a positive for both campus and our athletic program. It gives us an opportunity to be a part of campus and contribute in a small way, but this year the Department of Diversity, Equity and Educational Achievement will be the recipient of our spring game proceeds.

We have a long line of units that request this, and I think this goes back to 2014 where they finally come to the top of the list, and we work -- and our office works hand-in-hand with this department, and they help us with the "Beyond the Game" program, and we just think it's a perfect fit and look forward to a very successful game day and relationship.

PATRICK SIMS: I want to say thank you to Coach and the staff who made this event possible for us. Coach is absolutely right, this is a coveted space to be in, so our work is cutout for us; we gotta make sure y'all come to the game. But more importantly, it's a way to demonstrate the institution's longstanding commitment to diversity and inclusion.

We're actually, in terms of our players, the Big Ten CIC, we're at the top of the heap in terms of the length, number of years, 50 plus years, we have been thinking critically about diversity inclusion and have the resources, the personnel, the staff, the people in place to effect change, and I think we ought to be able to celebrate those experiences for us in ways that we haven't in the past. And I think having this partnership with athletics is key for us.

The other thing I want to point out is when you have this conversation around diversity and inclusion, you can often end up preaching to the choir, same people who do the same work day in and day out. I'm committed to ensuring that we address diversity and think of diversity in places that historically have not been on the vanguard or the front end of pioneering diversity efforts, and, again, another great opportunity to connect with the Athletics Department here at UW, so I'm just thrilled and excited about the partnership.

Q. Was your "Beyond the Game" program a success, or has it been?
PATRICK SIMS: Yes, the "Beyond the Game" program I want to say we're probably entering year six as well. That's a program designed to work with student-athletes, in particular student-athletes of color, to think about other career opportunities in addition to pursuing that dream of becoming a professional athlete.

We know in basketball, for example, and other major sports, the likelihood of getting the Melvin Gordons or the J.J. Watts or those folks, are pretty slim. That being said, there are amazing skill sets that being a part of an organization like UW Athletics that teach you -- that translate perfectly well in the whole genre or host of other career paths.

So that program is designed to think about leadership development and capacity building in ways that capitalize on the background and experiences that one has with athletics.

Q. Are you finding folks on campus, administration to student body allowing for inclusion, being more receptive to what your goal and your project is all about in your department?
PATRICK SIMS: Yeah, I think Madison -- you know, we -- it's a mixed bag, to a certain extent, right? So the word on the street is we aren't as diverse. We get a bad rap for being in a location that we are in. It's predominantly a white state. That being said, there is an incredibly robust, grass roots effort of people form all stripes who are committed to diversity and inclusion at this campus. We have never had in my opinion the kind of coordinated leadership where we're reaching out and we're capitalizing on the partnerships that have been in place at the grass roots level.

We're just trying to grow it so we can reach those who are in administration or that have spheres of influence that can make decisions and create change. We're doing that work in earnest now, and I'm not going to lie and say it's easy, but more importantly there are people who are committed, and I would take committed folk any day.

Q. Barry, obviously there is a lot to do in Madison outdoors, tough to compete with all those other activities, but would you like to see higher attendance numbers considering what other schools in the Big Ten are able to draw for a spring game?
BARRY ALVAREZ: For the last 25 years I would have liked to have seen higher-attended spring games. We have tried a lot of different things, but we consistently, I would guess, average between 8 and 15,000, depending on the weather, type of day you have. That's pretty consistent, so I've kinda given up on having a vision of a full stadium.

So, you know, it is what it is. This is what we normally get, I think consistently we're going to get that. It's an opportunity I think for people to take a look and have a sense of our football team. It's a fun day out for young families. It's affordable, and I always thought it was important as a teaching tool for the team to get a response from a crowd.

I think that's one of your steps in preparation for a game, so it's an important day, but I pretty much have given up the anticipation of having a big, big crowd, unfortunately.

PATRICK SIMS: Hopefully we can change that! We have Ron Bain. I understand he is going to be our honorary ambassador host with us for this event, so we're excited about that as well, and we're trying to build those bridges and spaces that historically haven't been there but when you take another look, it makes sense, right?

They further cement the university's commitment and certainly the athletics commitment to diversity and inclusion, and I think those are the things we ought to be celebrating. We ought to be shouting it from the roof took place because we're pretty good at it.

Q. What are your plans leading up to the spring game to promote your department and get maybe your message out even more so than just with this press conference right now on February 1st?
PATRICK SIMS: Right! Well, I got a team of pros who are thinking about that, who are putting in the heavy labor to come up with that game plan. There are a lot of things we are batting around. One, we want to do a retrospective, if you will, of the number of diverse athlete who have come through UW Athletics to sort of highlight those success stories and what they have done with their lives since they have been at UW.

We're doing the full court press over at the College of the Foundation to get those individuals to reach out to alum, in particular alum with color who are interested in supporting the goals of the Division of Diversity, Equity and Educational Achievement.

So we're trying to bring a number of seemingly disparate interests in one space, but to have the larger conversation that moves the needle towards how do we create nor inclusivity and a space where everyone feels like they could thrive at UW, and there are a number of ways to get at that, and we're identifying a few of them right now.

Q. Barry, just one football question for you, if you don't ming. What has impressed you most about Justin Wilcox and what you know of him?
BARRY ALVAREZ: I met Justin Saturday for the first time, had a chance to visit with him a little more today. I really don't know him. I do remember watching his team practice years ago, when he was at Boise, and they played Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl; one of the great all-time bowl games and upsets, and I watched him practice three or four times, and I can remember coming back and saying how impressed I was with the efficiency of the practice, didn't feel as though they were overly talented, but they were coached extremely well, and that might have been his first year as a coordinator, as I look at his bio.

I'm looking forward to getting to know him. I know in visiting with him today as he was watching film, he commented on how similar our structure, previous structure was compared to his, and I think he has all the right values and the important things and understands it's the players making the plays, and it's not coaches making calls.

It's about the players, and he's taking a look at what we have and how to best feature the athletes.

Q. I know this is about the spring game right now, in this press conference, but I just wanted to hear your thoughts about how Greg has done as head coach of the basketball team?
BARRY ALVAREZ: I've been impressed with how our basketball team has improved. I think it's quite obvious, there's been individual improvement, I've been very impressed with adjustments and his movements during a game and how he matches players up, but, you know, I spent so much time as a coach, you talk about improving, you try to put your players in the best possible positions.

I see them playing an entire game, winning tough games, so I've been very much impressed.

Q. It's a long ways away, but have you given much thought, is he trending towards earning this job?
BARRY ALVAREZ: Its way too early to talk about that. I gave you my evaluation, and that's where we will go. I'm pleased so far.

THE MODERATOR: Anything else for either one up here? Thanks, guys.

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